10 papers in the library · publishing 2006-2023
Feeling Unreal June 22, 2023 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract This chapter examines the various biological factors that may be involved in depersonalization/derealization (dpdr) and depersonalization/derealization disorder (DDD). The role of sensory association cortical areas and corticocortical dysconnectivity models are discussed, vis-à-vis the perceptual alterations characteristic of the disorder. The role of the limbic system and the...
Feeling Unreal June 22, 2023 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract The chapter focuses on the many nuances of depersonalization/derealization (dpdr) experiences, and on how to measure dpdr symptoms. The meanings of the word “unreal,” as well as shifts in the phenomenology of the disorder over the past century are discussed. Two self-report questionnaires are provided and explicated. The Dissociative Experiences Scale is a 28-item questionnaire that...
Feeling Unreal June 22, 2023 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract Depersonalization is the third most common psychiatric symptom, yet clinicians and lay people still know little about its presentation and treatment. While it can indeed be a symptom accompanying other mental illnesses, it is also a full-blown disorder unto itself, recognized by every major diagnostic manual. Chapter 1 discusses the symptoms of depersonalization/derealization disorder...
June 22, 2023 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract Feeling Unreal presents a comprehensive and contemporary overview of depersonalization/derealization disorder. The book examines in depth, and through many personal vignettes, the many shapes and forms that the dissociative state of mind known as depersonalization takes, its conceptualization over the past two centuries of psychiatric study, its detection, and its measurement. The...
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry October 1, 2009 Daphne Simeon, David S Kozin, Karina Segal et al.
Previous studies have documented that in a substantial minority of individuals with depersonalization disorder, onset is first triggered by illicit drug ingestion. The goal of this study was to systematically compare a large sample of individuals with drug-initiated (D) versus non-drug-initiated (ND) chronic depersonalization. We conducted an internet survey of 394 adults endorsing DSM-IV-TR...
CNS Spectrums September 1, 2009 Dan J. Stein, Daphne Simeon
ABSTRACT Depersonalization disorder (DPD) is characterized by a subjective sense of detachment from one's own being and a sense of unreality. An examination of the psychobiology of depersonalization symptoms may be useful in understanding the cognitive-affective neuroscience of embodiment. DPD may be mediated by neurocircuitry and neurotransmitters involved in the integration of sensory...
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract The idea that reality is subjective, constructed from our own perceptions, is quite an ancient concept. “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world,” said the Buddha. Depersonalization, a serious disruption in a person’s thoughts or sensations about their individual self, understandably alters their entire world. A person may...
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract Einstein’s advice, above, is particularly relevant when it conies to discussing the human brain, the most complex structure in all creation. While more is known about the brain than ever before, mass culture has developed a tendency to liken its functions to that of a computer, or explain serious disorders in terms of simple chemical imbalances. Such generalizations just don’t do the...
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract The human brain, the only organ capable of studying itself, has in the last century turned its attention toward the mysterious phenomenon of depersonalization, examining it from many perspectives. Depersonalization disorder (DPD) remains one of the most frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed conditions in modern psychiatry. Why? Likely for several reasons. DPD is often accompanied...
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Abstract Can depersonalization be successfully treated with psychotherapy? Although traditionally the psychotherapy literature has been rather pessimistic on this issue, more recent advances in psychotherapy technique aimed specifically at treating this condition leave us with more reason to be optimistic. To say that psychotherapy works, or always works fully, may be misleading or overly...